Local Impact of Federal Teachers Funds Unclear

Westfield school officials are still in the dark on whether the district will receive any of the $268 million in federal funds to hire additional teachers the state was just awarded.

Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan briefed Board of Education members on Tuesday evening that she is still waiting for formal word from the state regarding the distribution of the funds, which were signed into law by President Obama over the summer.

"We have no idea on how that will be distributed," she said.

Dolan said the most recent letter from acting state Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks said that the state education department is still developing guidelines for the distribution of the funds. Gov. Chris Christie said when he was applying for the funds, which were made available to states nationwide, that he wanted as much control over distribution of the funds as possible.

The text of the law dictates that the state school funding formula serve as a guide for the distribution of funds to local school districts. Dolan said this guideline does not bode well for Westfield, since the state formula favors urban districts.

The debate over the federal funds comes after the district implemented layoffs following Christie's decision in March to slash Westfield state education aid by $4.22 million or 90.4-percent.

Dolan did tell BOE officials that she is thinking through how to utilize the funds if the state awards money to Westfield.